Portable electronic devices, such as gaming devices, mobile telephones, portable media players, portable digital assistants (PDAs), electronic book (eBook) reader devices, and the like, are becoming increasingly popular. These devices often include a screen for visually conveying information to a user. Users of such portable electronic devices can provide input via a user interface to, for example, select an object or text on the screen. This user input is typically manifest visually on the screen (e.g., by highlighting the text or object), thereby providing the user with feedback confirming that the user input was received and processed. In devices employing a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or other display with a relatively short display update time, the user receives this visual confirmation almost immediately after providing the input.
However, in devices employing a display with a longer display update time, such as an electronic paper display, there may be a perceptible delay between when a user provides input and when that input is visually displayed on the screen. This delay can be confusing to a user, because they are not sure whether the device registered their input. Some electronic devices have attempted to mitigate this uncertainty by providing an audible confirmation of the user input, such as by playing a sound effect in response to receipt of user input. However, users may not associate the sound with the action they just input. Also, sound may not be able to adequately convey prolonged inputs, such as selection of a string of text.